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While the bulk of the NHL is kicking off the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Calgary Flames are officially working towards the 2013-14 campaign.

An off-season of change is ahead for the club which missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season,but finally came to the realization it was time to rebuild.

No longer are the Flames what we’ve witnessed the past several seasons— an aging club built around Jarome Iginla and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

After years of chasing their tails — either barely making the playoffs or just missing the second season — we’re into the next phase.

What we witnessed in late March, with the trades of Iginla and defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, was a brave new era but only the beginning. Don’t be surprised to see this team with 40 or fewer players signed to contracts when the free-agency period opens.

The Flames have all sorts of decisions to make before the pieces are in place for next training camp.

Here is a look at each position, not only peeking at what’s currently on the NHL roster but also what’s in the system.

GOALTENDING

Miikka Kiprusoff has refused to say whether he’ll be retiring or returning after this season, but it appears his NHL career has come to a close.

He spurned requests for interviews during the last couple of days of the season and ­— as usual — did the same when the team meets for one last time for interviews and medicals, which took place Sunday at the Saddledome.

It’s likely Kiprusoff, the franchise’s all-time leader in every key goaltending category, will quietly go into the next stage of his life with barely a whisper, even with one more year on his contract.

Where that leaves the Flames is an interesting study.

Joey MacDonald is the only goalie who saw NHL action this past season currently under contract for the coming campaign, having re-signed to a one-year deal a week ago.

Seen as a backup, the netminder claimed off the waiver wire in February staked a claim to be a key part of the team going forward. He played well enough to earn plenty of starts — just imagine if the Flames would have had a goalie like that all the years Kiprusoff was essentially forced to play 70 games a season — and provides a veteran presence.

The most likely netminding partner next season is Karri Ramo, the former Tampa Bay Lightning goalie acquired via the Mike Cammalleri trade with the Montreal Canadiens. Ramo has spent the last four seasons in the KHL.

He can’t officially be signed until July 5.

Whether Ramo can parlay the success he had in Russia into something similar when he returns to the NHL remains to be seen, but it’s likely he’ll be given every opportunity.

The fresh faces won’t end there.

Reto Berra, who was picked up from the St. Louis Blues in the Jay Bouwmeester trade, will come to North America from his native Switzerland, while Joni Ortio, the 2009 draft choice who has been in Finland’s top league the past couple of seasons, is also expected to be in the AHL next year.

Plus, Laurent Brossoit, the 2011 draft choice who is backstopping the WHL Edmonton Oil Kings during their playoff run, can turn pro.

He could also return to the junior ranks as an overager.

Jon Gillies, the 2012 draft pick, will build on a fantastic freshman year at Providence College in the NCAA ranks.

That doesn’t exactly leave a place for 2006 first-round draft choice Leland Irving or Danny Taylor, who are both pending unrestricted free agents.

RIGHT WING

Other than converted left wingers who skated on the right side, Lee Stempniak is the lone right winger proven to be capable of being on the top three lines.

Tim Jackman is a fourth-liner.

Roman Cervenka had an up-and-down first NHL season, and could return, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the 27-year-old former KHL star. The Flames can ill-afford to let go players capable of playing in the NHL, but they need them to be more consistent producers.

It doesn’t get better when you peer into the system.

Akim Aliu is a pending RFA but didn’t wow anybody in either the NHL or the AHL this season and could be running out of chances, and from there it gets to the likes of Ryan Howse and Bryan Cameron, who can’t crack the AHL roster on a regular basis.

LEFT WING

If there’s one position the Flames can say they have strength, it’s on the left wing.

Top prospect Sven Baertschi was what everyone hoped for when he returned from the minors for the month, Curtis Glencross is capable of scoring 30 goals, Mike Cammalleri and Alex Tanguay are proven vets. Plus, there’s Jiri Hudler, who can play on both wings.

Cammalleri has one season remaining on his contract and may be a summertime trade candidate, while Tanguay has three more years on his deal.

From there, things get thin, though.

Lance Bouma should recover from the knee injury which nearly wiped out all of this past season, and take a full-time job on the fourth line, and that may make pending UFA Steve Begin expendable.

Ben Hanowski, acquired in the Iginla trade, needs time in the minors, while the likes of Carter Bancks, Paul Byron and Bryan Cameron may be pushed out of the system by newcomers, such as Turner Elson and Michael Ferland.

CENTRE

The Flames aren’t just lacking depth at centre, but they’re desperate for top-level pivots.

Mikael Backlund took big steps forward this season, but the pending restricted free agent is not likely a first-line pivot.

Matt Stajan is a second- or third-line centre, and Blair Jones had trouble getting out of head coach Bob Hartley’s doghouse to make him a fourth-liner when he was on the big club.

Youngsters Roman Horak and Max Reinhart, as well as Ben Street, will be in the mix. Horak also took big steps, but he isn’t yet a second-line candidate, and Reinhart looks more likely to be a third-line player in his career.

If the Flames have a high enough draft pick, they may pull out a top-line centre, but that won’t be an immediate solution for such a pressing need.

Chasing free agents probably won’t help the cause.

More likely, they may have to hope a team needing to pare salary will send somebody in their direction – think Brad Richards if the New York Rangers are in that boat or Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche.

Don’t bother looking to the farm for help, either.

Greg Nemisz, the 2008 first-round pick is coming off a dismal season and may even be set free. The same thing goes for minor-league vets Ben Walter and Krys Kolanos.

Markus Granlund, a 2011 pick, is signed and on the verge of playing in North America, but he is best served developing and becoming stronger.

DEFENCE

T.J. Brodie had a breakout season, and the pending restricted free agent has positioned himself as a key piece for the team at age 22.

Brodie, Mark Giordano, a major candidate for the captaincy, and Dennis Wideman appear the key cogs of the blueline.

Cory Sarich and Derek Smith both have another season on their contracts, while Chris Butler is a pending RFA.

Mark Cundari, also a pending RFA, showed well enough in his four-game audition to be in the mix come next season.

As for Anton Babchuk and Brett Carson, don’t expect to see them return.

The Flames aren’t deep in the system.

A shoulder injury prevented 6-foot-7 Chris Breen from receiving his chance to play in the final week of the NHL season, but it’s hard to imagine he’s more than a third-pairing blueliner.

Brady Lamb and James Martin also spent the year in the minors, but they aren’t likely an answer to the club’s needs next season.

Tyler Wotherspoon, the 2011 second-round draft who played for Canada’s world junior team this season, is ready to turn pro. Even though the Flames have high hopes, it’s not fair to peg a 20-year-old to jump from junior to the NHL.

John Ramage will also turn pro after finishing his college career, but he needs seasoning.

In short, the Flames have some work to do to have enough legitimate NHL defencemen next season, especially a true top-four.

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Breaking down where the Flames stand

While the bulk of the NHL is kicking off the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Calgary Flames are officially working towards the 2013-14 campaign.

An off-season of change is ahead for the club which missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season,but finally came to the realization it was time to rebuild.

No longer are the Flames what we’ve witnessed the past several seasons— an aging club built around Jarome Iginla and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

After years of chasing their tails — either barely making the playoffs or just missing the second season — we’re into the next phase.

What we witnessed in late March, with the trades of Iginla and defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, was a brave new era but only the beginning. Don’t be surprised to see this team with 40 or fewer players signed to contracts when the free-agency period opens.

The Flames have all sorts of decisions to make before the pieces are in place for next training camp.